Chapter 45
There had been so many things going on in the Forest of Life.
Dealing with intruders, strengthening the dungeon, and all sorts of other things.
Anyway, whenever there is a meeting, there is a parting.
Leaving behind the homeland of the branded elves I had grown attached to, Dreamland settled into a new place. That place was Fire Forge.
To briefly explain, Dreamland landed near the dwarves' city when its location-shift cycle came around.
Dwarves were exactly as I'd imagined them.
A race of beer-loving, dexterous, stubborn, tough little pig-men with muscles to spare.
Like humans, dwarves had several city-states and the like, and Fire Forge was a dwarven nation located in the frigid north.
Ever since becoming a dungeon master, I'd felt this way.
It was a pretty amazing feeling to see races that should only exist in one's imagination.
Well, the fact that they were dungeon rapists who had come to rape my dungeon hadn't changed.
They were the sort I'd have to keep dealing with for quite some time.
Their forces were enormous, and their individual combat power was considerable, so normally I should have been whining in the Gallery about being scared shitless.
But Dreamland was currently holding off the dwarves with unprecedented ease.
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【Memory-Eating Cat (★4)】
【Price : 150,000P】
【Tags : Anomaly, Immortal, Endgame, Untrainable】
【This minion becomes active when intruders escape from the dungeon.】
【This minion cannot become active during the half day when the entrance is open.】
【It removes the intruders' memories. The range of removal extends from the moment they enter the dungeon until the moment they leave—in other words, every moment they spent inside the dungeon.】
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【Ink-Manipulating Rat (★4)】
【Price : 150,000P】
【Tags : Anomaly, Immortal, Endgame, Untrainable】
【This minion becomes active when intruders escape from the dungeon.】
【This minion identifies information related to the dungeon's traps or minions written by intruders. The same applies if it is written in code.】
【This minion can manipulate some of the dungeon-related information written by intruders.】
【The information this minion can manipulate includes drawings, text, photographs, and video recordings.】
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It was all thanks to these two, Tom and Jerry.
Memory removal and information manipulation.
No matter how I thought about it, this was seriously fucking overpowered.
A means of making intruders doubt the very information they had investigated at the risk of their lives.
Without their memories, they wouldn't know what had happened inside the dungeon.
In that case, the only means of deduction would be the information the intruder had written down personally. But what if even that information could be manipulated?
With these two minions, I could proudly say that Dreamland had become an even trickier dungeon.
I wondered if even the Blessed Ones would have a pretty hard time from now on.
Of course, I wasn't claiming it was invincible.
To truly make it invincible, I would have to make all the information investigated by intruders meaningless.
I couldn't completely prevent information from leaking, and the portions the Ink Rat could tamper with were limited.
But even so, it was enough.
At least, that's what I thought.
For reference, the 'certain portions' I mentioned here referred less to the amount of information, such as the number of characters, and more to the meaning of the concept. Let me give an example.
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4. Sometimes a bug-man boards, but you should ignore it.
▼
4. Sometimes a bug-man boards, and you have to fight and defeat it.
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The Ink Rat could manipulate information roughly like this, right?
Let's suppose an intruder realized that the information was being manipulated.
If they thought, 'This only changes a little, right? Then why not write it really long?' and wrote a 5,700-character information dump, let's imagine that situation for a moment.
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4. The bug-man doesn't attack intruders if they remain still. It probably has poor eyesight and can't detect intruders inside the elevator. If one remains still, the bug-man examines the intruder's body from head to toe, then disappears into the corridor without lights.
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4. Sometimes a bug-man boards, and you have to fight and defeat it.
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This is how it gets 'condensed' and changed.
That way, the information doesn't contradict the minions and traps.
In other words, the Ink Rat's ability to 'manipulate certain portions' didn't mean 'changing parts of the text written by the intruder.'
It was closer to being able to manipulate parts of the very concepts behind the rules of the anomalies recorded by the intruders.
As I said earlier, it couldn't manipulate all information.
Some of the information intruders carried out would probably be correct.
But let's think about this for a moment.
Suppose an intruder carried out the correct information that said, 'You must not go out into a corridor without lights.'
However, what if, under those same circumstances, they also carried out the false information that 'the elevator is for multiple passengers'?
Crunch, crunch.
As they watched their companions being crushed.
Could the intruders really trust that information completely?
Well, I couldn't guarantee that there weren't any flaws at all.
The information the Ink Rat could manipulate was definitely limited.
Still, downgrading an 'answer' into a 'hint' was truly an enormous advantage.
The intruders might be able to anticipate the anomalies they would face to some extent.
But the important thing was that anomalies uncovered through multiple runs could be reused.
I thought they were extremely good minions.
If someone asked me whether I preferred the country mouse or the city mouse,
I'd proudly say, 'I like the Ink Rat, you bitch.'
Oh, and thanks to these minions, Dreamland was ranked No. 1 on the Dungeon Gallery's list of the dungeons intruders hate conquering most.
What the hell was I talking about?
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Title : The results are in for the poll on the dungeon intruders hate conquering most.
Author : Orange★
1st – Dreamland
2nd – Wallachia
3rd – Ant Nest
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There wasn't any particular reward, though.
Congratulations on being selected.
This is a tremendous honor.
If even we thought so, imagine how much the intruders must hate it.
Hope it stays this fucking awful until it's selected as a dungeon the Blessed Ones avoid. Yep.
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I Have No Minions : Until now, I thought being brainwashed by a vampire was the most terrifying thing about browsing the Gallery, you know??
ㄴI Have No Minions : I thought Love Dungeon was the most vile dungeon, making you kill your companions with your own hands and scream in agony, and that this feeling would never change...
ㄴI Have No Minions : But this time, I changed my mind. Yep.
ㄴI Have No Minions : @Newbie, you're the best. Just take the crown. Yep.
ㄴI Have No Minions : I'm already furious that the anomaly made the magic swordsmanship I'd trained in all my life useless, and now you're manipulating my memories and even the information I brought back at the risk of my life?????
ㄴI Have No Minions : If I were an intruder, I wouldn't have entered Newbie's dungeon.
ㄴI Have No Minions : I'd just keep doing my job diligently and live my life. Yep.
Golem King : Honestly, is this what they call sunk cost??
ㄴGolem King : I guess everyone enters because they think a newly established dungeon should be manageable, lol.
ㄴGolem King : But whenever you draw back the curtain, there's always hell waiting on the other side.
ㄴGolem King : If I were really an intruder, I'd have hated it like hell, lol.
DIP : Dreamland really is the most fucking awful dungeon, lol.
ㄴMagic Hero : H-h-h-honestly, I think it's the pinnacle of unfairness...
ㄴAnt Queen : It feels like it's been dropped into a world of its own, you know. Yep.
ㄴAnt Queen : But I never imagined it could even cause forgetfulness as an anomaly...
ㄴAnt Queen : What on earth is Newbie's identity? ㅋㅎ
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : It's a peculiar case in many ways.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Personally, I think Newbie is some kind of bug-like existence.
ㄴNewbie : ㅠㅠ...
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Of course, I'm not insulting you...
Shibgan Love Dog : Come to think of it, why did Newbie become a dungeon master at this particular time?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Does anyone have an idea why?
ㄴTV Head : I'm looking into it personally, but
ㄴTV Head : even my supercomputer is having trouble figuring it out. Yep.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : Isn't it actually an ENIAC instead of a supercomputer, lol?
ㄴTV Head : Do you want to die?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Actually, I can more or less guess the reason.
ㄴMental Hospital's Head Patient : What???
ㄴSkeleton Bones : For real?
ㄴMagic Hero : R-r-r-really?
ㄴNight Crow : D-d-d-d...
ㄴCowhead : What the fuck is it?
ㄴKongKong : You're killing us with suspense, so hurry up and tell us, fuck.
ㄴOrange★ : What is it??? If you're lying, you'll be banned for an hour, so if you don't know, just say you don't know. Yep.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Whew... I never thought I'd end up saying this here... It's embarrassing, but I'll give it a try!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : You see? Based on my long observation, I came up with a deduction.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : No matter how I think about it, I believe there's only one answer.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Newbie was born into this world to love me, and this is a destiny ordained by the God of Forgetfulness, something even a god cannot defy......
-This user has been temporarily banned-
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I guess you could call it a dungeon ranking showdown.
The Dungeon Gallery holds polls like TOP 10 of this and that on a regular basis.
This time, Dreamland was selected as the number one most fucking awful dungeon in the world. What an honor.
Although I'm still a low-level newbie and have far fewer devices than the veterans,
when playing a game, the situation that pisses you off most isn't running into an overwhelmingly skilled opponent, but running into someone who plays like a complete asshole.
I was a guy who played games like a complete asshole.
I don't need to make the strongest dungeon in the world.
My goal is to make the dungeon people least want to enter in the entire world.
I was making good progress toward that goal, having even been selected in this poll.
But the enemies had caught Newbie's lewd scent and were all desperately hoping to become intruders themselves, so I still had a long way to go.
Newbie : But the dwarves are pretty abnormally obsessed too...
ㄴCowhead : Awesome, we can watch a shitload of live runs for a while. What a deal, lol.
ㄴMagic Hero : F-f-f-f-fire Forge is practically a city-state, after all...
Maybe it was because we'd landed in the dwarves' city.
They were the largest force among all the intruders I had faced so far.
They had all been slaughtered in front of the elevator during the first wave, the second wave, and even the third wave.
Hmm, I had a feeling the dwarves wouldn't give up on the mana stones easily.
The dwarves were unlike the enemies I had faced until now.
They were the sort who could gladly die if their leader ordered them to, so they were definitely no ordinary bunch.
It would be best to stay cautious for the time being.
Newbie : But bros, the Blessed Ones really can't use the Gallery inside the dungeon, right????
ㄴOrange★ : Yep. If you press 'Community Settings OFF' in the system settings, they can't use the Gallery inside the dungeon either.
ㄴOrange★ : Don't believe me? Go to the link and look at this.
ㄴOrange★ : It's fucking hilarious how they wave their fingers around in empty air, then stop the moment Connection OFF is turned on, lol.
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***
【3rd Raid Results】
【Writer: Chase】
Entry count : 12
Raid result : 11 dead, commander survived, 1 escape scroll consumed.
▼ I
I sent in the 3rd raid party, but there were no major gains.
Judging from the surviving commander's journal, it seemed they had been stopped in front of a suspicious machine called an 'elevator,' just like the 2nd raid party.
The 3rd raid party entered carrying a strategy guide.
The guide clearly contained an explanation of the elevator.
Then why had the 3rd raid party been stopped in front of the elevator?
The commander of this raid party had also written a journal.
Since those attempting to conquer Dreamland lost all their memories of being inside the dungeon the moment they escaped, documenting the information they discovered was essential.
The journal's contents were ordinary.
They walked down the white corridor and were stopped in front of the elevator.
Then the raid party began investigating after consulting the strategy guide.
However.
Compared to the journal of the 2nd raid party's commander, there was something clearly strange about it.
▼ Commander's Journal
P.01
The raid party's morale was generally good.
Although it was an unknown dungeon, all the members were full of determination.
Thanks to the sacrifices of the 2nd raid party, we learned how to conquer this dungeon.
We have to do our best so their sacrifice won't be in vain.
The elevator is right in front of us.
We steeled ourselves.
P.02
A member of the raid party died.
What could have gone wrong during the last expedition?
We had no choice but to begin the investigation again.
The elevator is definitely for multiple passengers.
We just confirmed it.
It's safer to ride with several people.
That way, we'll be able to deal with the bug-man when we fight it.
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P.03
Therefore, the information we uncovered at the risk of our lives is as follows.
1. The machine is called an elevator. We have to use it to reach the next area.
2. The elevator is for multiple passengers, so as many people as possible should board it for smooth exploration.
3. You must never go out into a corridor without lights.
4. Sometimes a bug-man boards, and you have to fight and defeat it.
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Chase stopped writing for a moment.
The situation recorded in the journal was contradictory.
If the raid party had possessed the strategy guide and its information was true,
they should have gotten past the elevator and headed to the next area.
But in the end, the party hadn't been able to advance past the elevator.
He had thought that was extremely strange, but
"Huh, now that I look at it, the handwriting is different……"
Chase discovered decisive evidence.
He began moving his pen rapidly again.
His eyes began blazing like flames that made cold things tremble.
He had solved the mystery of Dreamland.
He had to tell the mayor about this as soon as possible.